A security man removes his protective mask next to the entrance of the Shanghai Stock Exchange Building.
Dean Yves | Getty Images
SINGAPORE – Asia-Pacific stocks were lower on Thursday, as mainland Chinese stocks returned to trading after a long New Year’s break.
By the evening, the Shanghai concentration rose 0.39% while the Shenzhen component fell 1.552%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.16%.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan was 0.3% lower while the Topix index was down 1.11%. South Kospi Kospi fell 1.06%.
In Australia, there was little change to the S&P / ASX 200.
Australia’s unemployment rate fell to 6.4% in January, according to seasonally adjusted estimates released Thursday by the country’s Bureau of Statistics. That compared to the December unemployment rate of 6.6%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.52%.
Oil prices will rise
Asian oil prices rose in the afternoon of Asian trading hours, with Brent international futures benchmark up 1.23% to $ 65.13 per barrel. U.S. crude futures gained 0.95% to $ 61.72 a barrel.
The U.S. dollar index, which follows the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.95 after a recent rise from levels below 90.3.
The Japanese yen was trading at 105.82 per dollar, weaker than levels below 105.6 against the green seen earlier in the week. The Australian dollar was at $ 0.775 after seeing levels around $ 0.78 earlier in the trading week.
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